JOEY BATTS

Artist & Emcee

Joe Battaglia, known regionally as Joey Batts, is a High School English teacher at Manchester High School, previous to this year, he was a part of the Hartford Public School system for 14 years. A stalwart in the local musical community, the last two years has seen Joey stretch his reach and  start to create more public art.

From a radio interview, he states, "I've always used art in the classroom to help bridge the gap between visual & written language, it helps cross over language barriers & it fosters unlikely friendships."

Specializing in mostly spray paint, Joey has created work with his students, members of the community and creating pieces that allow children and other artists to add to his designs with acrylic paints, paint markers & other mediums.

As resident of Hartford, Joey Batts received accolades for his community involvement and his work in bringing community artists together, May 16th is recognized in Hartford as Joey Batts Day.